Donahue allays Korean fears over FTA redraft

Donahue allays Korean fears over FTA redraft U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donahue was in Seoul Wednesday to assure business leaders there that the wording of the free trade agreement signed between the United States and South Korea would not change with the incoming Obama administration.
   Korean business leaders were concerned that recent comments from Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton might herald a redrafting of the FTA, which was signed by the countries in June 2007 but has languished in Congress. It requires Congressional approval to pass.
   U.S. politicians unconvinced of the deal are fighting for a better balance of auto trade between the two nations, as well as better access to the Korean market for U.S. beef exporters.
   Donahue said there might be small changes made, but that the document would not be overhauled.
   “There will have to be refinements, such as on autos, but I believe they can be easily resolved,” Donohue said on the sidelines of a press conference, the Korea Herald reported Thursday.
   The newspaper suggested that Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has flatly refused to renegotiate the FTA, fearing it “offset the balance of the deal.”
   But Donahue said the FTA is a priority for U.S. businesses and that ratification must be achieved.
   “Even in a time of economic retrenchment, the United States and Korea must convince the global community to abide by international principles of open trade and investment,” he said. “Ratification of the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement would be an historic leap forward in commercial relations between our countries. I have an optimistic view about this FTA. It’s going to get done.”